


fools rush in where angels fear to tread

by shepherdofmantle (account_now_inactive)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Background poly huntresses, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Multi, POV Alternating, Rivals to Lovers, Slow Burn, aka: ironwood and his gaggle of idiots, and plenty of 'oh shit he's hot' moments, author included, the ace ops are getting friendship rights, the ace ops are why ironwood has so many gray hairs, there is not a single brain cell to be found here, witch au!, with a dash of mutual pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25863736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/account_now_inactive/pseuds/shepherdofmantle
Summary: Clover always thought he was special, the only with the ability to manipulate probability. On a mission to infiltrate Evernight Corporation, however, he runs into someone else who can do the exact same thing. The rival coven Beacon has powerful new witches that keep giving Clover and his team a run for his money, but someone else keeps interfering with their missions, stealing Relics before they can get there.Meanwhile, demons and monsters are popping up more and more, putting the secret of witches' existence at risk of discovery. Clover and his team don't exactly get along with the up and coming team STRQ, but they may not have a choice, if they want to find those Relics and stop whoever is summoning those monsters.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Raven Branwen/Summer Rose/Taiyang Xiao Long
Comments: 19
Kudos: 45





	1. less of a meet cute and more of a meet ugly

**Author's Note:**

> and so begins my next au, whatever this is *gestures vaguely* I binged the owl house the other day and got some inspiration so here we are
> 
> i am making a sandcastle out of canon and you cannot stop me

The plan was deceptively simple. 

Clover found himself reaching for his pin, normally affixed to his lapel, more than he should. He grabbed a drink from a passing waiter instead and raised it to his lips, pretending to take a sip as he surveyed the partygoers. Most of them were wealthy businessmen, though Clover could spot several prominent politicians among the crowd. 

Noticeably missing was the CEO of the Evernight Corporation herself. 

“Elm,” he muttered under his breath. “Ready?” 

“Coming in hot,” her voice said in his ear. 

A moment later, her laugh rang out across the crowd, getting closer. Breathe in, breathe out, and then he turned around, as if to make his way across the wide reception hall, and bumped right into Elm. He splashed his drink down the front of his shirt with a loud curse, waving off Elm’s apologies with a roll of his eyes. 

“It’s fine,” he said curtly. “Nothing water won’t fix. Carry on.” 

“Nonsense!” she cried. “Let me help. Come!” 

She grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him away from the group of Vale businessmen she’d been talking to, shouting an apology over her shoulder. Only one of them was still watching, a tall, dark-haired man with pale red eyes, watching Clover with a strangely thoughtful expression. He was about to ask Elm who he was, when several snickers sounded over the comm in his ear, and he scowled. 

“Focus,” he hissed. 

“Oh, I’m focusing alright,” Harriet said. “That was fucking amazing.” 

“It was on purpose,” Vine pointed out. 

“Still hilarious,” Marrow said. 

“We’re still on a mission, in case you’ve all forgotten,” Clover muttered. 

“This was your idea,” Elm reminded him as she steered him away from the crowd. She gave him a sympathetic pat, ignoring the death glare he sent over his shoulder. “Alright, we’re headed in. Everybody get ready to roll.” 

Clover started down the empty hall, heading past the bathrooms and deeper into the headquarters of Evernight. Elm followed, suddenly serious, as the whole team sprang into motion- Elm and Clover, finding out exactly what the source of magical energy hiding deep in Evernight Corp was, Marrow and Vine, the lookouts, and Harriet, the distraction, if needed. 

The lights away from the party were off, leaving most of the building in darkness, lit only by the red EXIT signs above stairwell doors. This wasn’t Clover’s first job breaking in somewhere, but the whole place felt off, as if something were watching them from the shadows, as if the building itself wanted them out. 

“You feel it too, huh?” Elm asked. 

“Yeah.” 

“Spell?” 

“Could be. Keep your eyes peeled.” 

“Hey,” Marrow said. “You’ve got someone headed down that hall after you.” 

“Who?” Clover asked.

“Didn’t get a good look at him. Male, dark hair. He may be Evernight so- aw shit.” 

“What is it?”

“Gotta go. I think we’ve been spotted, someone’s headed for Vine. Three o’clock. Woman, long black hair, red suit.” 

“Thank you,” Vine said, as calm and unruffled as before. 

“Fuck,” Elm muttered. 

“We can take him,” Clover assured her. 

“I have to say, I admire your confidence.” They turned, and in the faint red light of the nearest sign, Clover could see the businessman from earlier, his eyes bright red in the darkness, a grin curling on his lips as he stepped closer. “But that lamp is ours.” 

Lamp? 

“Oh, so that’s what it is?” Elm asked. “Thanks! You’ve been a great help, so we won’t kill you.” 

“You didn’t even- ugh, whatever.” He shifted one foot backwards, and that was the only warning either of them had before he raised his hand and fired a bolt of red light at them. 

Elm and Clover scattered, and in the brief flash of light, Clover could see the wall where it hit crumble and age years in the span of a heartbeat. Elm threw her hands up, and his next attack hit her shield, shattering it into a thousand green shards that winked out as they hit the ground. Clover’s eyes fell onto the light hanging above the man’s head; if he didn’t do something, Elm was going to get hurt. He concentrated on the glass of the lightbulbs- old, weak, cheap- and found the threads of probability holding it together. Just as the man’s fingers lit up with those red sparks again, Clover tugged, hard. 

The glass shattered, raining razor sharp fragments on top of the man. Clover may have tugged a little too hard, because the metal holding the light up groaned, and then snapped, and dropped on top of him. 

“Go!”

Elm turned and bolted down the hall, and Clover turned to follow, before they ran into more of Evernight’s witches, when he felt it. The air shifted around him, as if he had reached out and tugged at another thread; except he hadn’t. His foot landed on a slick patch on the floor and he pitched forward, landing with a grunt on his forearms. He rolled over and inched back, away from the strange man staring at him with those bright red eyes. 

“You,” the man snapped as he shoved the light off of him. “Who are you?” 

“You can do it, too,” he said. 

“Yeah, no shit. I bet you thought you were so special.” 

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off in a burst of yellow electricity. Harriet skidded to a halt next to Clover, raising the hair on his arms as the last bits of electricity faded away. She’d knocked the man out cold, but Clover could hear shouting from farther down the hall. 

“Let’s go. We’ve got company,” she said. 

“Yeah, we figured that out.” Clover climbed to his feet and, with one last glance at the man, hurried in the direction Elm had gone. “Evernight?” 

“Nope. Beacon.” 

“Of course they are.” The rival coven had all but disappeared in the past several years, but apparently they’d found new recruits- powerful ones- if they had Harriet running. The man he and Elm had run into had been powerful, and he was like Clover- an anomaly, with a semblance that didn’t fit into any of the schools. 

Special, or so he’d been told. What had the man meant? That there were others like them, who could sense the threads of probability, and tug them in new directions, impossible ways? That Clover was not as special as he’d thought? 

He shook those thoughts away and focused on the now- finding that lamp and getting the hell out of here before Evernight security realized there was a brawl going down. 

“Qrow!” a man’s voice shouted behind them. Clover glanced over his shoulder, but Harriet tugged him around the next corner before he could see much. 

Qrow. He turned the name over in his mind as they ran, past the sparking control panel Elm had left behind. They joined her in a lab, empty except for scattered notes and a bare table and a smashed computer. 

“We were too late,” she said. “Someone got here before us.” 

She gestured to the mess with a small sigh. 

“Beacon,” Harriet grumbled. She aimed a kick at the table and whipped around. “Come on, let’s go collect the others and get out of here.” 

Clover had filled Ironwood in on their failure on the way back, but when the team filed in the door, it was Winter waiting for them in the front hall, her lips pursed into a frown. Well, more so than usual. 

“He’s mad, isn’t he?” Marrow asked. His shoulders slumped and his tail dropped, but he perked back up again when Winter shook her head. 

“I wouldn’t say mad,” she said. “He wants to talk to us in his office.” 

They followed her into the library-turned-office, silent as they tried to puzzle over Winter’s words, and then silent as they took in the sight of the normally pristine office. Books lay scattered over the top of his desk, papers strewn over every available surface. He’d dug a whiteboard out from somewhere, covered in half-legible notes and sticky notes. The five of them exchanged glances with each other, and then Winter, who just shrugged and stepped forward. 

“Sir?” she called. 

Ironwood looked up from the book he was bent over, and it wasn’t anger, or irritation Clover saw in his eyes; it was fear. His blood ran cold, and maybe ‘are you okay’ wasn’t appropriate while he was still on duty, technically, but his  _ friend _ didn’t look okay, and a knot of worry twisted itself into Clover’s chest and settled there. 

“Yes, thank you Winter,” he said. He blinked, and that fear was gone by the time he had stood and moved around his desk to face them. “Clover filled me in on what happened at the Evernight headquarters. The source we detected, the witch told you it was a lamp, correct?” 

“That’s correct,” Elm said. 

He sighed, the sound heavy and exhausted. 

“I feared as much. Have any of you ever heard of the four Relics?” 


	2. wait . . . so WHERE'S the Relic?

“Well that sucked,” Summer said. 

The four of them were quite the sight as they trudged home, Qrow nursing a massive headache, Summer covered in dirt and vines, Tai still discharging static everytime one of them got too close, and Raven about two seconds away from murder. 

“It wouldn’t have sucked, if someone hadn’t let those assholes get away with the lamp,” Raven snapped. 

“I didn’t expect her to be so fast,” Tai muttered. 

“And who missed her in the first place?” 

“Guys please,” Summer begged. “Let’s not do this while we’re walking down the sidewalk.” 

The team fell into sullen silence that only lasted a few more paces before Tai spoke up again. 

“What’s got your pants in a twist, Qrow?” 

“Fuck off,” he grumbled. 

Raven and Summer turn their gazes on him, the former with a single brow raised, the latter with wide, worried eyes. He just scowled and focused on the sidewalk ahead of them, on crossing the distance between each pool of light cast by the streetlamps so he didn’t have to think about the pounding in his head and that stupid asshole with those stupid green eyes, whose expression had so perfectly mirrored Qrow’s own feelings. 

He wasn’t the only one. 

If he wasn’t the only one with magic that shouldn’t exist, then maybe his existence wasn’t as much of a mistake as he had been told it was. Hope always tasted so bitter, but he couldn’t stop the flood now, no matter how much he tried to shove the other witch from his mind. 

“He’s just angry he got shown up by a pretty boy wearing enough hair gel to drown in,” Raven said. 

“Rae!” Summer shouted. 

“I didn’t get shown up.” Qrow rolled his eyes. “He had help.” 

“So you admit he was pretty,” Tai said. 

“Ugh! You all are insufferable!” 

“Seriously, Qrow, what’s up,” Summer asked. “You’re broodier than usual.” 

“No I’m not.” 

“You are,” Raven and Tai said at the same time. 

Qrow just flipped them off. 

He didn’t need to look to know they were exchanging one of those three way glances that ended the same way each time: Tai would try to be subtle about pulling it out of him before eventually giving up and asking outright; Summer would approach him and give him those sad eyes, talking about how she was here for him if he needed her until he said something to appease her; then, Raven would sit next to him in ominous silence until he eventually cracked and she’d call him an idiot, and Summer would make cookies and let him have a few extra, and they’d go on with their lives. 

“Shouldn’t we be worrying about the Relic?” he asked. 

“We’ll find it,” Summer assured him. “It’s not like it’s hard to track. Besides, once we find out which coven those witches were from, it’ll be a piece of cake.” 

“Only you would call stealing from another coven a piece of cake,” Tai said. 

“It’s not hard.” Raven shrugged, and Qrow was inclined to agree with her. Most covens were full of self-absorbed, arrogant assholes who all thought themselves the best witches to ever grace Remnant. A childhood of stealing from said assholes had left Qrow and Raven disenchanted with the idea of covens as a whole, and certainly not afraid of them. 

Qrow was pretty sure Summer was just insane. 

“Not hard?” Tai scoffed. 

“What? You scared?” Qrow asked. 

“Am not!” 

“Good, because we’re going to have to,” Summer said. “Now stop arguing like children.” 

Tai opened his mouth, stopped, and then closed it after a second, and they fell into silence again for the remainder of the walk. The Beacon coven- the four of them, Glynda, and Ozpin- lived in a house barely big enough for all six of them and the really weird dog Tai had brought home one day, in one of the historic neighborhoods of Vale. It had a wall around the property to give them privacy, and plenty of room in the yard to grow their own plants and herbs. Creaky floorboards, the broken heating system, and the ghost in the parlor had not been a concern, evidently, when Ozpin had bought the house. 

Ozpin and Glynda were sitting in the parlor when they walked in, and that was strange enough. Neither of them had an Affinity for divination, and as far as Qrow knew, none of them had called ahead to tell them what happened. Stranger still was the crease of worry on Ozpin’s normally smooth brow, and the lack of any sort of mug in his hands. Qrow could sense the ghost, pacing back and forth behind them, but they weren’t quite agitated enough to start disturbing anything. 

“The Relic is gone,” Ozpin said. 

“No need to talk like that.” Tai crossed his arms and glanced between Glynda and Ozpin. “We can get it back. We just need to figure out which coven stole it.” 

“We can’t sense it any longer,” Glynda explained. “It’s magic has disappeared.” 

Silence. 

“What the fuck?” Raven asked after a moment. 

“We’re not sure,” Ozpin said. “For the moment, start by describing the other witches. If we know who else was there, we may be able to figure out an explanation for this.” 

Summer launched into a description of the other witches and the following battle for the relic, albeit a bit more dramatic, and with more sound effects than the actual thing. Ozpin hummed thoughtfully when she finished, tapping a finger against the top of his cane. 

“It sounds to me,” he said, “that you had a run in with the Alsius coven.” 

“The Atlas snobs?” 

“Yes, Qrow, they are based in Atlas.” 

“From the sounds of it, they sent their best after the Relic,” Glynda said.

“They didn’t even know what it was.” Qrow shifted on his feet and amended his statement. “Well, they didn’t know it was a lamp. I think they knew it was pretty important.” 

“Do you think they’d help us?” Summer asked. 

“Isn’t the head of their coven kinda . . .” Tai waved a hand in the air. 

“Stubborn?” Qrow suggested. 

“Paranoid?” Raven added. 

“Yeah, that!” 

“Guys,” Summer whined. “We’re not going to get them to help with that attitude.” 

“Your optimism never ceases to amaze me,” Raven drawled. 

“I will send a letter and request a meeting,” Ozpin said. “In the meantime, get some rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us, if we want to find the rest of them.” 

It’s not until Qrow had collapsed on his bed that he realized he’d never told any of them about that witch and his magic. He groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. He could tell them tomorrow, but for now, his bed was comfortable, and it wouldn’t make a difference if he told them tonight or in the morning. 

“Qrow! Get up! Get  _ up! _ ” 

He groaned and swatted at Summer’s hand, rolling over and pulling the blankets up over his head. It granted him about three seconds of peace, before a pillow smacked him in the back of the head, hard. He yelped and rolled out of the bed in a tangle of blankets and limbs to land at Summer’s feet. She ignored the scathing glare he sent her and tossed the pillow back into his bed with a smile. 

“Ozpin’s got the meeting set up. Hurry, or we’re gonna be late.” 

“Aw, fuck,” he grumbled. 

He scrambled to grab clothes that were at least a little presentable, and joined Tai in the bathroom to brush his teeth and run a comb through his hair. Summer tossed the two of them a muffin and they were out the door, piling into Ozpin’s old car. 

“So where are we meeting?” Tai asked around a mouthful of muffin.

“Gross.” Summer wrinkled her nose and elbowed him. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.” 

“Vytal Park,” Raven answered. “Wide open, public, so it would be hard for them to try something.” 

Tai made a show of swallowing his muffin and said, “You think they’ll try something?” 

“We can never be too careful,” Ozpin said from the front seat. “As much as I would like to trust James, we will be discussing a . . . sensitive matter. We must be prepared for anything.”

Ozpin parked the car and the team hopped out. Qrow blinked against the bright morning sun and followed Oz across the grass. Three others were already waiting for them, only one of which Qrow recognized from the night before. Of course the pretty boy had come- and Qrow wouldn’t deny he _was_ pretty, illuminated by sunlight and not fake candlelight and neon exit signs. 

And that was when Qrow remembered he had yet to tell Ozpin about their magic. 

Oops. 

“Ozpin,” the man standing at the front and center said. 

He had to be the leader- even more than an arm’s length away, Qrow could feel his magic, powerful enough it overflowed out of him, but controlled, less like a dam breaking and more like a blinding light. He shifted his feet, and next to him Raven stiffened. 

“James.” Oz dipped his head and stopped just out of reach. Qrow shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to remain nonchalant, but he turned his ring around his finger, over and over, a nervous tick he’d never been able to shake.  “I’m sure you know what we’re here for.” 

“Do I?” 

Raven scoffed under her breath, and the white-haired woman on Ironwood’s other side pressed her lips into a thin. Out of the corner of his eye, Qrow watched Summer deliver a small kick to Raven’s ankle. 

“The lamp.”

“The lamp you stole last night?” Ironwood asked. 

“Bullshit!” Tai snapped. “ _ You’re _ the ones who stole it.” 

For the first time, his stony expression cracked into something akin to confusion. 

“You didn’t take it?” the man asked. “Because it was gone by the time we got there.” 

“Clover,” Ironwood warned. 

“Sorry, sir.” He glanced at Ironwood, and then over at them. It may have been his imagination, but his eyes lingered on Qrow for a beat longer than the others. “If they’re telling the truth, however, that means someone else out there has a powerful magical object, and they’ve managed to hide it from all of us.” 

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Raven challenged. 

“We could say the same thing about you,” the woman pointed out. 

“Arguing will get us nowhere,” Ozpin cut in. 

“This is a waste of time.” The woman crossed her arms and swept an ice-cold glare over them. 

“I’m inclined to agree.” Ironwood sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Unless you would like to consider discussing an agreement we can both settle on, we’re done here.” 

Clover threw them one last glance as he followed the other two away, but he turned his back as soon as his eyes met Qrow’s. 

“Well that sucked,” Tai muttered. 

“Yeah,” Summer said. “But if they’re telling the truth, then who stole the Relic?” 

Not even Oz had an answer to that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! as always, comments and kudos are appreciated!!
> 
> tumblr: shepherdofmantle


	3. A (not-so-simple) Guide to Getting a Guy's Number by Clover Ebi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> himbo clover is a himbo

“This has to be your worst idea yet,” Marrow grumped. 

“Just shut up and keep an eye out. I’m buying you coffee, remember,” Clover said. He craned his neck to eye the top of the wall, tall, but with enough crumbling stones he could find a handhold and climb over without much trouble. 

“The only reason I’m doing this.” 

“Right.” Clover rolled his eyes. Marrow had been a little too eager to play backup, even with the promise of coffee Clover had dangled before him, but he could save the teasing for later. 

It had been easy enough to slip away from Ironwood and Winter with the promise of doing some investigating on the missing lamp, and to follow the Beacon witches back to their headquarters, an older house surrounded by a wall rising well above Clover’s head and laced with protective wards. Said wards were the reason Clover had asked Marrow in the first place; his affinity for Enchantment- and a strong one at that- would let him bypass the wards so Clover could get up and over. 

Marrow frowned as he stepped closer to the wall, his fingers hovering a hair's breadth away from the stone. His brow furrowed, but Clover remained silent, letting him work his magic- pun not intended. The wall lit up with swirling blue runes, and with a small, triumphant smile, Marrow said, “Freeze.” 

For a moment, the runes remained that same icy blue, and then they dulled to an off-white gray, and Marrow gave a nod to Clover. He shot Marrow a thumbs up and, slowly at first, then more confidently when it was clear he wouldn’t be incinerated on the spot, scaled the wall and rolled over into the garden beyond. 

He dropped into a patch of overgrown bushes with a small grunt and picked himself up, dusting leaves and twigs off his clothes. A quick glance confirmed he was alone- good, because he wouldn’t be attacked on sight, bad, because now he needed to find Qrow. He made his way along the rows of plants- various herbs and flowers he recognized from their own greenhouse as spell and potion ingredients, though the Beacon garden was less organized. Winter had organized theirs by genus and species, and for those who didn’t have the scientific name of every plant memorized- everybody else in their coven- she had hung a laminated cheat sheet by the door with a map of the greenhouse. 

He felt the faintest brush of magic, a moment before someone careened into him and sent him crashing over a rosebush and into the dirt. The air left his lungs in a whoosh as he hit the ground and something-  _ someone _ \- heavy landed on top of him. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Qrow demanded before Clover could even get a breath in. Clover’s mouth was suddenly dry, his pre-rehearsed speech flying right out of his head as he stared up at the other witch. Qrow’s mouth was twisted into a frown, one hand raised and sparking with magic, the other pressed against Clover’s chest, keeping him flat against the dirt. 

Qrow must have been able to feel Clover’s heart beating against his ribcage, but he didn’t say anything else. Clover forced himself to take a deep breath, holding as still as he could so he didn’t startle Qrow into firing right into his face, and tried to pick up the scattered pieces of his speech. Trying to form a coherent thought wasn’t  _ easy _ staring up at Qrow, and did he know that his magic matched his eyes? 

_ Focus, Clover _ , he reminded himself. 

“Hi.”  _ Great start.  _ “I was actually looking for you.” 

Qrow blinked once, then twice, and asked, “Are you stupid?” 

“Sometimes,” he said. “Just hear me out, and then I’ll leave. I’m not here to  _ do _ anything.” 

“How did you even get in here?” Qrow asked with a frown. 

“I climbed the wall.” 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” 

“Not important.” Clover waved a hand, and he felt Qrow tense above him. He dropped his hand again, palm facing down, and after a moment, Qrow relaxed and gave him a nod. His magic faded around them, less of a lightning storm and more of a dull static. The air felt empty without it, as if Clover had somehow gotten used to it in the minute he’d felt it, as if it were supposed to be there, a push to Clover’s pull. As if he were the eye to Qrow’s storm, yin and yang- balance. Qrow’s brow furrowed the tiniest bit, and Clover wondered if he’d felt it too, that strange connection, as if they had been made to  _ fit. _

“Start talking,” Qrow said, and the moment shattered. 

“The Relic. It will be much easier to find it if we work together,” Clover started. Qrow frowned, raising a skeptical eyebrow, and Clover hurried to continue. “I’m not interested in stealing it. It’s dangerous, and I’d much rather it be in the hands of someone known, than floating around out there being used by someone  _ unknown _ .” 

“And you’re not worried I’ll take advantage of you?” Qrow asked. “I don’t even trust you, how do you expect this to work? Are your teammates in on this?” 

“Some of them, yes,” Clover answered, taking the easy question first. He hesitated a moment before he added, “We could swear.” 

Silence. 

“You’re serious about this,” Qrow said finally. 

“Yes.” 

He let out an incredulous laugh and  _ finally _ climbed off of Clover, settling cross-legged next to him as he sat up. It was suddenly much easier to think, without Qrow practically sitting on his lap, and  _ that’s _ not a good sign; Clover could play off his interest as curiosity about their Affinities and how similar they were, the lingering glances as caution around a strange,  _ dangerous _ witch, but he couldn’t fool himself into believing that there wasn’t something that drew him towards Qrow, following that strange siren-song into Qrow’s storm. It was risky, but something about the danger sent a thrill up Clover’s spine. 

“Okay, Shamrock. What’s your plan?” 

“Well. I didn’t really think I’d get this far,” Clover admitted. “Would your team agree to help?” 

“Summer might.” Qrow shrugged. “Raven, not so much. Tai . . . well, Tai can’t keep a secret.” 

Clover had no idea which teammate was which, but he nodded like he understood. 

“Okay, so Summer, you, me, Marrow, and Elm. We can find a missing Relic between the five of us in no time.” 

“I have to admire your confidence,” Qrow sighed. “But that’s assuming I can get Summer to agree.” 

“Have a little confidence in yourself.” Clover poked at Qrow’s knee, forgetting for a moment that they were not friends, that they hardly knew each other at all. A faint blush spread over Qrow’s pale cheeks, and he cleared his throat, and that was about when Clover’s thoughts caught up with him. He pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned and his gaze slid to somewhere over Qrow’s shoulder. “The swear.” 

“Right.” 

Clover stuck out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Qrow reached out and took it. He could feel the magic humming under his skin, and static crackled up his arm from the point of contact. He wondered what his magic felt like to Qrow, if he felt that same spark, or if it was just Clover’s mind running wild. 

“I swear,” Clover started. His hand lit up teal, soft like the manicured lawns of the Atlas district, and his next words fell from his tongue almost beyond his control. “That I am making this offer in good faith, that I have no intent other than what I have expressed to you.” 

“I swear,” Qrow echoed. His own hand lit up pale red, the same bright rose as the gaze that burned holes right through Clover. “That I have accepted your offer in good faith, and that I will not use your trust to harm you.” 

The light faded, and they pulled away from each other. The silence stretched on for an awkward beat, then two, then three. Clover gestured vaguely towards the wall and said, “I should be going, before I get caught. But, give me your number. It will be easier than sneaking in here every time.” 

“I still want to know how you did that,” Qrow drawled. He took Clover’s Scroll and typed into it, and Clover just laughed and shook his head. 

“Maybe sometime,” he said. “A witch has to keep some secrets.” 

“Right.” Qrow handed his Scroll back with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t expect it to be so easy next time.” 

“I think it’d just be easier to get coffee somewhere.” 

“Are you asking me out?” Clover choked, and he could feel his face burning as Qrow dissolved into laughter. “You make the dumbest faces, Shamrock. Priceless. Don’t worry, Atlesians aren’t really my type.” 

“Of course,” he managed, and tried to ignore the pang of disappointment those words sent through him. “I’ll see you around then.” 

He threw a quick glance over the bushes- still clear- and gave Qrow a small, awkward wave before standing and heading towards the wall. He could still feel Qrow’s gaze on his back as he vaulted up and over the wall, landing next to Marrow and giving him a thumbs up. 

“So, Operation Top Secret was a success!” Elm cheered. 

“We are  _ not _ calling it that,” Marrow said. 

“We have to call it something!” Marrow lifted his cup of coffee off the table as she thumped the top of it, and Clover resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. 

“Keep your voice down,” he told Elm. “And we should call it something, but no offense, that name isn’t very subtle.” 

“But it’s accurate!” she protested, only a smidge quieter. A few of the other customers in the coffee shop glanced towards them, but otherwise, they went ignored. It was still better than trying to do this where the others could walk by and hear them- not that it was hard to miss Elm’s voice. 

“Accurate means suspicious,” Marrow shot back. 

“We can brainstorm names later,” Clover said. “But yes, it was a success. He agreed.” 

“Great!” A few of the other customers sent Elm a glare, and Marrow choked on his sip of coffee. “So, what’s the plan?” 

“Well. I got his number.” 

Marrow spit his coffee back into his cup. 

“Gross,” Elm said. 

“Was this whole thing just so you could get some dude’s number?” he demanded. 

“No!” Marrow and Elm both gave him skeptical looks, but he forged on, pointedly ignoring them. “He thinks he may be able to get one of his teammates on board. Once he reports back, we’ll figure out a way to track down this Relic.” 

“Any ideas on that?” Marrow asked. 

“We could always see if Pietro has something,” Elm said. 

“Doesn’t he have that big project he’s working on though?” Clover asked. 

“Good point.” Elm’s shoulders slumped. 

“We can ask if he has anything extra laying around the workshop,” Marrow suggested. 

Any other suggestions were cut off as all three of their Scrolls buzzed. They each pulled out their Scrolls, checking the message from Winter. Clover’s heart dropped into his stomach as he stood, Marrow and Elm close behind. 

“We’ll figure it out later,” he promised. “Let’s go.” 

_ Demon at Amity Tower,  _ Winter’s text read.  _ All hands on deck, ASAP.  _

Clover pushed Qrow and the Relic to the back of his mind, and tried to focus on the threat he and his teammates hurried towards. Amity Tower was in the Atlas District, but he wondered if Qrow would show up; he wasn’t sure if he wanted him to, or not. Which was silly. Clover and his team could handle a demon between the five of them- six, if Winter was there. Atlas was their territory to protect, and interference from Beacon would be seen as an insult. He didn’t have an Affinity for Divination, but Clover’s stomach twisted into knots the closer they got to Amity Tower, no matter how hard he tried to shake it. 

Something was  _ wrong _ .

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: shepherdofmantle
> 
> as always, comments/kudos are appreciated! thanks for reading ^^


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